Sawtooth swings—up-and-down ripples found in everything from stock prices on Wall Street to ocean waves—occur periodically in the temperature and density of the plasma that fuels fusion reactions in doughnut-shaped facilities ...
Plasma Physics
Jul 18, 2018
16
6943
One of the greatest obstacles to producing energy via fusion on Earth is the formation and growth of small magnetic field imperfections in the core of experimental fusion reactors. These reactors, called tokamaks, confine ...
Plasma Physics
May 3, 2018
1
132
A key challenge in fusion research is maintaining the stability of the hot, charged plasma that fuels fusion reactions inside doughnut-shaped facilities called "tokamaks." Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) ...
Plasma Physics
Mar 14, 2018
0
8
Confining a plasma jet can be stress-inducing, especially on the shielding materials. Noting the limits inherent in the test methods currently used for such materials, Professor Patrizio Antici and his colleagues have proposed ...
Materials Science
Feb 15, 2018
0
12
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have built and delivered a high-resolution X-ray spectrometer for the largest and most powerful laser facility in the world. ...
Plasma Physics
Nov 21, 2017
0
6
Physicists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are providing critical expertise for the first full campaign of the world's largest and most powerful stellarator, a magnetic ...
Plasma Physics
Aug 28, 2017
0
24
"Measure twice, cut once" is an old carpenter's proverb—a reminder that careful planning can save time and materials in the long run.
Plasma Physics
Feb 13, 2017
9
1574
Physicist Fatima Ebrahimi at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has published a paper showing that magnetic reconnection—the process in which magnetic field lines snap together ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 23, 2017
1
112
In a world struggling to kick its addiction to fossil fuels and feed its growing appetite for energy, there's one technology in development that almost sounds too good to be true: nuclear fusion.
Plasma Physics
Jan 17, 2017
53
99
Senior research scientist Chikang Li wants to experiment with the stars. Intrigued by a curious "kink" phenomenon observed in the Crab Nebula, an interstellar cloud of gas and dust that formed in the wake of a supernova explosion, ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 20, 2016
6
53
